Wes Anderson

I caught director/filmmaker Wes Anderson’s most recent film, “The Isle of Dogs”, animated with an all-star cast.   By now I’ve seen all the films he directed, which all have a similar whimsical quality like Tim Burton, though much more mundane than supernatural.  And of course, no one beats David Lynch for weird, right?  Here’s a subject where most of my assessments will be negative, so bear with me if you’re a big Wes-head. 

Bottle Rocket.  First film.   A pair of friends, Dignan (Owen Wilson) and Anthony (Luke Wilson), playing friends rather than brothers, engage in a series of incompetent thefts and robberies, with James Caan as a mentor and some Hispanic maid as a love interest.  It wasn’t particularly memorable, interesting, funny or exciting.  I watched it once and then promptly forgot almost all of it.

Rushmore.  Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) is an improbably versatile student at Rushmore, a private school in Houston, Texas.   Actually he puts all his energy into extra-curricular activities instead of, not in addition to, his studies, so his success doesn’t match his ambition.  He vies with a wealthy businessman, Blume (Bill Murray) for the affections of a teacher, Rosemary (Olivia Williams) who eventually falls in love with Blume.   Max and Blume fight, then make up.  Again, somewhat dull.

The Royal Tenenbaums.   The story of three NYC kids of a powerful but corrupt father Royal (Gene Hackman): Chas (Ben Stiller), Richie (Luke Wilson), and Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow).  The kids started out talented and ambitious as youngsters but seem to bottom out as adults.  There’s crap going on with Owen Wilson and Bill Murray’s characters, Royal fakes cancer to win back his wife (Angelica Huston), and other stuff happens.  Confusing and only borderline funny.  Watch once and that’s it.  See a pattern?

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou.   Sea shit with Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, and other people, Murray’s character being somewhat like Jacques Cousteau.   Watch it once and sink it deep.  Bye bye. 

The Darjeeling Limited.  Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Schwartzman on a train in India.  It’s Wes Anderson, so of course Bill Murray is in here somewhere.   Dull adventures on a train in India.  That’s it.  NEXT.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox.  Stop-action animation about a thieving fox played by George Clooney.   Actually fairly entertaining as Wes Anderson films go, but only marginally less forgettable.  Bill Murray?  Check.  Jason Schwartzman?  Check.  Owen Wilson?  Need you ask?   Possibly made more endurable with herbal enhancement.

Moonrise Kingdom.  Scouting in New England in the 1960s.   Bruce Willis is here for a change, giving a good account of himself.  Edward Norton, Bill Murray (yes, again), and Jason Schwartzman (yes, again).  More dull than amusing, but by now we know what to expect from Wes Anderson.  Herbal enhancement may induce earlier slumber before finishing this one.    

The Grand Budapest Hotel.  Some hotel in what looks like Austria or Hungary.  Ralph Fiennes is the main guy but the usual suspects including BILL MURRAY are back in yet more idiosyncratic yet forgettable roles.

 

The Isle of Dogs.   A weird animated film about dogs banished from mainland Japan to an island of trash.  Mayor Takayashi, who orchestrated the ban by falsifying evidence of a health crisis surrounding the dogs (created by himself, in fact) finds that his adopted son Atari has gone to the island in search of his own dog, voiced by Liev Shreiber.  The main dog, a stray (Bryan Cranston, a dog version of bad-ass Walter White minus the meth) finds out stuff.  Scarlett Johansson voices a show dog, Nutmeg.  The humans all speak Japanese and are voiced by Japanese actors, Ken Watanabe and Yoko Ono being the only notable ones.  The dogs get the A list of actors including the usual suspects (yes, Bill Murray).  Some good action and adventure and a likable outcome.  Another movie I’ll watch once and never again.

All of these films are somewhat lighthearted and humorous in a very subtle, passive-aggressive way.  It’s so dry as to be like dirt and sand.  Is this supposed to be ironic or cynical?   Whatever else it might be, it’s so low-key as to be extremely dull – at least to me.   Enjoy or not at your own risk.